An Artist's Mind
by NickyFox13
Summary: A drabble collection about Sachiko and her relationship with her art at the boarding house. OCs mentioned.
1. Chapter 1

Sachiko realizes she's lived at the boarding house for almost a year. If she wanted to be precise: her stay was seven and a half months, four days, eight hours, thirty-nine seconds.

Anyone in the boarding house would laugh at Sachiko for knowing how long she's stayed: her sleeping and eating habits are unpredictable and ridiculous. Umi, especially, noted with a laugh that there've been more breakfasts interrupted by Sachiko incoherent, half-asleep rambling. Sachiko glowers at the accusation of not keeping time.

Sachiko's an artist - fearless, fierce, genuine, proud - who thrives on no routine.


	2. Chapter 2

Inspiration comes and goes, ebbing and flowing like the currents in a river but without the same consistency you'd expect from a body of water. Sachiko works hard to embrace the unpredictability of her muse; some days, her muse works harder than other days. She knows creating something every day is the key to improvement.

Sachiko constantly keeps a sketchbook on hand to keep her mind (and most importantly, her hands) at work. Creativity flows through her pencil, a utensil which she grips tight with the hope her next creation is a masterpiece.

She goes through more pencils than erasers.


	3. Chapter 3

Today is the first Friday of the month, which means it's Sachiko's first paycheck of the month. The entire boarding house knows that she uses most (if not all) of her money on supplies. It took Umi, the dictionary definition of practical, the opposite of impulsive Sachiko, to help everyone understand why it was important for her psyche to purchase art supplies.

Her day job is that of a retail worker: it's a grueling job with unpredictable hours. Sachiko's main joy in life is art supplies. This hobby's more than just a hobby: it's a lifestyle that needs constant upkeep.


	4. Chapter 4

Sachiko's eyes widen with unadulterated glee the second she enters the art supplies store, as if she had never set foot in the space before. She visited this store often and she's considered a regular whose presence was encouraged, expected.

"Welcome back, Miss Hirokouji," the timid shop owner greeted, a wonderful woman who kept her straight brown hair up in a plain ponytail to reveal a calm face.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me by my first name?" Sachiko explained with a light hearted grin.

"Every time you come in," was the warm reply.


	5. Chapter 5

The art store was a family run business owned by a married couple and their three children who had lived in Yokohama for as long as Sachiko could remember. It was a shop that sat in the middle of a busy road. Despite the amazing location, the quaint store remained silent. It's good for Sachiko: she had the place to herself.

The store was a clean, cozy place with high ceilings, and golden walls decorated with shimmering beads, making the place stand out.

"Take your time, Miss Hirokouji dear. This will be the last time you'll be able to shop."


	6. Chapter 6

Sachiko had come to know this store and the owners like her own family. The sudden, unexpected revelation made her heart tighten.

Yori, the youngest child, worked the most and was closest in age to Sachiko; thus, they were the closest. Yori always worked the register with diligence and excitement. Tsukiko, the middle child, worked mostly with inventory related matters. She was a solemn, no nonsense young woman who kept to herself. Hideki was the oldest and, although he didn't work in the store physically, he was responsible for finances.

Katsuo and Jun were the parents Sachiko wished she had.


	7. Chapter 7

The painful revelation would never seem real to Sachiko.

"You're joking...right?" She asked, too upset to properly control the incredulity in her voice. Jun nodded with a slow, steady tranquility that further pulled at Sachiko's heartstrings.

"I wish I was. Rent has gotten too high. We're barely scraping by," Jun stated.

"Is there anything I can do?" The question tumbled out of Sachiko's mouth all too quickly. But the worst words that could've been uttered were:

"There is nothing you _can_ do, unfortunately," Jun said, the sadness in her voice betraying her calm demeanor.


	8. Chapter 8

Sachiko's more creative than most people's first impressions. To many, she's a lazy free-spirit. However, there's an inner ambitious spark that drove her to accomplish plenty.

Sachiko's heart wanted to save her favorite art store, and that she tried.

She knows that it would take a miracle to find a way to lower the rent just by being herself. That option's out. However, she knows she has time to get people to buy art supplies. This idea's just idealistic enough that there's a chance it could work. Boosting sales had benefits. More people meant longer range for word-of-mouth to travel.


	9. Chapter 9

Sachiko locked herself in her room to frantically paint. She kept hearing Jun's disappointed voice sadly say "there is nothing you can do" in her head like a broken record. Sachiko's motivation to paint skyrockets. She even missed lunch, her evening work shift, and dinner in order to paint seventy-five posters detailing everything a person needed to know about the shop in the form of a desirable artistic poster.

Sachiko's proud of herself that she somehow found the fury, the energy to dedicate to this passion project for a company she wasn't even technically affiliated with in an official capacity.


	10. Chapter 10

The fun part of her passion project had ended, and she was still drunk on the intoxicating power of knowledge of these paintings made Sachiko felt like she mattered, like she could make a positive impact. She ached knowing that the helplessness she once felt could disappear: she did something she loved. For now, she could pretend her actions meant something. The most serious action of the moment was in the existence of poster placement.

For a brief, terrifying moment, Sachiko realized a family's livelihood unknowingly depended on this. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but a girl could hope.


	11. Chapter 11

Sachiko floated through work for the next few weeks with a smug sense of satisfaction. At every moment, she mentioned the shop and it seemed like she would succeed at spreading word of mouth. Her boss at work didn't appreciate the advertising diverting customers from buying at this current business, so Sachiko made sure to be sneakier in her approach. Her determination to save this beautiful art shop burned at her with an intensity Sachiko thought she only had reserved for art and not much else. A part of her felt deeply frightened at how badly she wanted this success.


	12. Chapter 12

It was time to put her fears to rest: today was the penultimate day of the month, and Sachiko felt a duty to check on her beloved art shop. This shop had given her so many memories and she enjoyed the feeling of purpose blooming within her chest. She sauntered toward the art shop, and what she saw ahead of her made her heart drop into her stomach.

The shop had closed down permanently.

"This wasn't supposed to happen!" Sachiko screeched: it was an unpleasant sound. Life wasn't fair, but unfairness wasn't supposed to be the result of hard work.


	13. Chapter 13

Jun unexpectedly approached Sachiko in a moment of weakness.

"What are you doing here?" Jun asked, as if the answer wasn't obvious. Sachiko tried keeping her face calm, despite her storm of emotions.

"I wanted to thank you," Sachiko said, her voice barely a whisper. Jun raised an eyebrow.

"For what?" As silence filled the art store, which became emptier by the minute from movers, tensions began to grow as Jun tried to put the pieces of Sachiko's thanks together.

"For nurturing my talent and for being so unquestionably...wonderful," Sachiko's voice cracked, barely hiding her emotions.


End file.
